Celtics-Heat takeaways: Defensive adjustments do wonders for C’s in Game 3 originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Celtics went up 2-1 in their first-round playoff series vs. the Miami Heat with a bounce-back performance Saturday night.
After allowing the Heat to make a franchise playoff record 23 3-pointers in Game 2, the Celtics buckled down defensively to limit Miami to just 9-of-28 (32.1 percent) from beyond the arc. They pulled away during a dominant second quarter in which they scored 42 points — three more than the Heat’s first-half total. It was a complete 180 from the second half of Game 2, in which the C’s scored just 40 points.
The Celtics led by as many as 29 points in their 104-84 Game 3 win. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown notched 22 points apiece while Kristaps Porzingis and Derrick White added 18 and 16, respectively.
Bam Adebayo had a team-high 20 points for the Heat. Tyler Herro and Nikola Jovic each chipped in 15.
Tip-off for Game 4 in Miami is set for Monday at 7 p.m. ET with Mike Gorman and Brian Scalabrine on the call for NBC Sports Boston. Coverage begins at 6 p.m. with Celtics Pregame Live.
Here are three takeaways from Boston’s Game 3 win.
Defensive adjustments do wonders
Coach Joe Mazzulla and the Celtics needed to make adjustments after allowing the Heat to go berserk from beyond the 3-point line in Game 2. They did just that, and the difference from Game 2 was night and day.
Boston upped its defensive effort significantly, pressuring Miami’s ballhandlers and not allowing its sharpshooters to get comfortable from 3-point range. The Heat were thrown off from the opening tip, missing eight of their first nine shots and finishing the first quarter 5-for-21 from the floor — including 1-of-9 from deep — to end the frame with just 12 points.
That defensive effort lasted for all four quarters as Miami went just 9-of-28 from deep. That’s only one more made 3 than it made in the first quarter of Game 2. The Heat made more 3s in Game 2 (23) than in Games 1 and 3 combined (21).
The Celtics also dominated the turnover battle, scoring 24 points off Miami’s 12 turnovers. They had 19 points off…
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